Ex-US Marine faces jail after admitting smuggling guns into Britain

A former Marine accused of smuggling handguns into the UK in his luggage has pleaded guilty to two of the 50 charges put against him.

Steven Greenoe was alleged to have imported at least 66 weapons into the country from his home in North Carolina before selling them on.

The 37-year-old faces being jailed for up to 30 years when he is sentenced this summer. He admitted exporting firearms from the United States without a licence and travelling in foreign commerce to deal in firearms without a licence when he appeared in court in Greenville, North Carolina.

Police fear many of the guns, which included Glock and Ruger 9mm pistols, were sold on to criminal gangs in north-west England.

One drive-by shooting in Wythenshawe, Manchester, last October, in which a man was hit in the leg, has allegedly been linked to a gun bought by Greenoe.

Documents posted in US courts reveal the suspected gun runner was stopped by security staff but talked his way on to a flight.

He claimed to be an arms salesman returning from a gun show and the broken-down weapons parts were harmless dummy samples.

News of his alleged activities has sent alarm bells ringing on both sides of the Atlantic about the effectiveness of flight security checks.

George Holding, US Attorney for Raleigh, North Carolina, said he was concerned that the weapons were not detected at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where he believes Greenoe left the country from.

He said: "I believe it concerns those who are responsible at the airport, and I believe they are taking measures to solve the problem."

Attorney Mark Edwards, representing Greenoe, said prosecutors had dismissed 48 charges against his client, who joined the Marines at the age of 17 before receiving an honourable discharge two years later because of his health.

He will be sentenced in June.

Greenoe, who lived with his British wife Elizabeth in Shrewsbury, described himself online as a "security and investigations" specialist. He claimed to be the head of Jolie Rouge Group, a firm specialising in protecting shipping off eastern Africa from pirates.

A trail of evidence led to him after an undercover British police officer bought three guns in the North West, according to media reports in the United States.

The weapons had all had the serial numbers removed but were found to have been bought in North Carolina just days earlier.

The offences took place between February and July last year and allegedly involve 63 weapons sold for around 500 US dollars (£316) each.

Investigators have linked him to 10 flights that flew to Manchester via Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Atlanta last year.

British police fear the guns were sold for up to £5,000 each and would have been highly-prized on the criminal black market.